Sea pipes may help planet 'heal itself' reuters news

Sea pipes may help planet 'heal itself' LONDON - A SERIES of giant pipes in the oceans to mix surface and deeper water could be an emergency fix for the Earth's damaged climate system, the scientist behind the Gaia theory has said.

Dr James Lovelock, whose Gaia hypothesis that Planet Earth is a living entity has fuelled controversy for three decades, thinks the stakes are so high that radical solutions must be tried - even if they ultimately fail.

In a letter to the journal Nature, he proposes vertical pipes 100m to 200m long and 10m wide be placed in the sea, so that wave motion pumps up water and fertilises algae on the surface.

This algal bloom would push down carbon dioxide levels and also produce dimethyl sulphide, helping to seed sunlight-reflecting clouds.

'If we can't heal the planet directly, we may be able to help the planet heal itself,' said Dr Lovelock of the University of Oxford, and co-author Chris Rapley of London's Science Museum.

The two scientists argued it was unlikely any of the technical or social schemes for limiting carbon would restore the planet's status quo.

International climate experts have warned that global warming will bring more droughts, heatwaves and floods, and rising sea levels.

REUTERS

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_161995.html